Day 27 - A Harlequin Singer

Another ZERO day streak busted at 3 days.


I wasn't sure I would be able to break the cycle today, as I had no plans for birding outside of my local patch. But in a big year, last minute decisions change everything; sometimes they are a bust, and other times everything falls into place.  Today was the latter.  I keep an eye on the eBird rarity report every day here in Narnia--not because I want to but, its the best way to get rarity info.  Too many people don't use rare bird alerts, listservers, or in general share their sightings, out side of the world of eBird.  Narnia is an interesting state with a large and ever growing community of birders that are seemingly disconnected in a day and age when it is easier than ever to be connected.  I guess that's part of the unique profile that fits many birders: loners, introverts, shy, not social... Even the most outgoing of birders fits these in some way or at some time in their birding.

I'd been keeping an eye on a report of a Harlequin Singer for a while now, and when I finally saw a photo of the bird I decided it was worth a shot.  Then I saw several others had seen it in the past 24 hours and it made for an easy decision to chase it down.  And there is no great story for the chase--the drive was uneventful, I got out of my car and heard a familiar call from a patch of trees nearby and bang. Tick mark.  Just like that #142, a Harlequin Singer out of the way for the year.  This species is always a tough call for a chase.  They tend to stick around for a while, but have become more sporadic in recent years.  I feel like a decade ago there were always a handful of reliable long staying individuals each year--I guess with the digital age we've lost some of that person to person connectivity we used to have, and maybe folks just aren't sharing like they used to.

Chasing the Harlequin worked out perfectly though, and despite the way birding has changed, there is something to be said about the speed an accuracy that technology helps in a big year.

I took a couple shots and spent probably too long trying to relocate it for a better photo so I didn't have time to try for anything else nearby. And that was all there was to today's birding.  No exciting huge list of species, and nothing extraordinary to talk about.  But slowly chipping away at the end goal is important and every bird from here out is a difference maker!

New birds today: 1
Year List: 142

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